BNP Paribas’s Securities Services has added “a wide range” of ESG criteria to its investment compliance screening capabilities, enabling asset managers and asset owners to incorporate “customisable and flexible” ESG factors into portfolio monitoring. The custodian’s outsourced investment compliance monitoring service provides automated post-trade monitoring, offering independent assurance that funds are meeting their ESG commitments, investment objectives are met and any breaches are highlighted. The new ESG service employs a wide range of data feeds from external and internal sources to allow asset owners and managers to monitor their portfolios. BNP Paribas screens portfolios against customised and flexible criteria tailored to clients’ ESG framework, including standardised ratings and benchmarks, exclusion from specific activities, inclusion or restrictions from specific sectors, countries or companies, and the impact of controversies. The ESG capabilities are currently available to investment funds domiciled in France and Luxembourg, and will shortly be offered to funds in Australia and New Zealand. Throughout 2023 and 2024, Securities Services at BNP Paribas will roll out the service across other locations in EMEA and APAC and continue to evolve and develop the platform. “As the ESG market diversifies and matures, it is vital that investors have confidence in the sustainability-related labelling or classification of their funds,” said Nevan Redmond, Global Head of Product, Depositary and Fiduciary Services, Securities Services, BNP Paribas.
